New Kensington sanitary authority increasing rates by 1.7%

New Kensington residents will see a 1.7% increase in their sewage bills next year.

That’s less than the 2.7% increase the Municipal Sanitary Authority of the City of New Kensington imposed for this year.

Beginning Jan. 1, the authority will increase its rate for 100 cubic feet from $9.84 to $10.01.

For a home with a 5/8-inch meter, the minimum rate for 500 cubic feet per month will increase from $49.20 to $50.05; quarterly, the cost for a minimum of 1,500 cubic feet will increase from $147.60 to $150.15.

The authority says the increase is needed to pay for sewer line repairs and equipment improvements within the city, and repairs to the sewage treatment plant. The state Department of Environmental Protection has required some of the projects.

Rising costs are also to blame, authority Solicitor Larry Loperfito said.

“The cost to run the authority has simply increased,” he said.

Work on an expansion to increase the capacity of the authority’s treatment plant started last year and is expected to be finished in 2025, Loperfito said.

Other areas served

In addition to New Kensington, the authority also serves customers in Arnold, Lower Burrell and part of Plum.

The rate increase in New Kensington does not apply to the other communities, which do their own billing, Loperfito said.

“We do not control what they bill their own residents,” he said.

The authority bills the others based on their percentage use of the wastewater treatment facility — 32.44% for Lower Burrell, 14.7% for Arnold and 1.1% for Plum, Loperfito said.

Arnold will not be increasing its rates for 2023, City Manager Mario Bellavia said. Earlier this year, Arnold officials said they were stepping up efforts to collect on delinquent sewage accounts.

Out of about 10,000 customers in Plum, about 250 in the Logans Ferry area of the borough are served by New Kensington, said Howard Theis, manager of the Plum Borough Municipal Authority.

More than half of Plum residents are served by the borough’s own treatment plant, while just under half are served by Penn Hills, he said. About 600 customers are serviced by Alcosan.

Theis said a decision on any rate increase for all Plum customers would be made in November.

Despite rising costs, “We’re going to try to hold the line,” he said.

A representative of Lower Burrell did not respond to requests for comment.